THE 2020 JERRY LUCE AWARD … Shown are Allyn Luce, Jo Ann Luce, Jennifer Luce Maier, Mike Trausch, and Edon-Northwest District Superintendent Anthony Stevens. (PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY KAYS, STAFF)
By: Timothy Kays
In keeping with tradition, the halftime of the Senior Night basketball game between the Hilltop Cadets and the Edon Blue Bombers in The Hangar saw the annual presentation of the Jerry Luce Award to a local citizen who espouses the spirit of volunteerism and community service in Edon.
This year’s recipient is in the process of making the tradition of Bomber Baseball excellence even better.
“Part of what I think makes our community so great is because so many people volunteer,” said Jo Ann Luce, “…and do whatever is needed to make it happen. Whether it’s working in the concession stand, whether it’s seeing something that needs to be done and volunteering to do it, whether it’s organizing summer ball leagues…there’s just a whole lot of things. The group tries to find somebody, and there’s many, many names that comes up. It’s just hard to choose one individual each year.”
She continued, “This year, the award is going to an individual that – they say you don’t have to ask the person to do things. It’s just someone that volunteers, steps up, and does what needs to be done. This year’s award is going to go to the person that has orchestrated getting a new scoreboard for the baseball diamond. I think it’s going to be big enough…you’ll be able to see from my front window. This award goes to…Mike Trausch.”
Already one of the finest high school ball fields in Northwest Ohio, G. Kent Adams Field is going to be getting an upgrade on a huge scale. The current scoreboard that sits just beyond the fence in the right field power alley is more than adequate for high school and ACME League games.
What Mike Trausch has arranged though is a different breed of beast that dwarfs the current model.
There has been a lot of changes going on over at the school formerly known as Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. Although they still share the same campus address, a 2018 realignment saw the two universities splitting, and with that split, the Mastodons, the sports teams, are now exclusively under the Purdue University umbrella.
With that change comes another…the Mastodons are changing conferences. A member of the D-I Summit League since 1997, the Mastodons will be joining the Horizon League on July 1, 2020.
Another change has taken place at Mastodon Field, the home of the Purdue Fort Wayne baseball team. The big scoreboard that used to sit beyond the left center field fence has been replaced with a new board that is more in line with the rebranding and remaking of the Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball Mastodons.
So then, you might ask what exactly does all of this have to do with a Friday night award ceremony in Edon, Ohio? Plenty, as it turns out. Mike Trausch, a Bomber Backer and a proud Bomber father, got wind of the new scoreboard going in over in the Summit City, and began making inquiries and arrangements for the ‘Dons old board to come across the state line to G. Kent Adams Field. The scoreboard, the supporting structure…the whole shooting gallery is now in Bomber Country, thanks to Mike Trausch.
The old Edon scoreboard has served admirably throughout the years, but the new board will provide a huge upgrade. Yes, both boards will tell you what the score is…they are, after all called ‘scoreboards’. The new board however will show the total score, plus the scoring in each inning, and that’s just one new feature.
The new board is much bigger in size and scope, and with it being suitable for an NCAA Division I baseball team, it will command a position of prominence and respect at G. Kent Adams Field that tells all visitors that they are serious about their baseball in Edon, Ohio.
Jo Ann Luce said, “…you don’t have to ask the person to do things. It’s just someone that volunteers, steps up, and does what needs to be done.” With this big blue bonanza that will be ensconced at Adams Field for years to come, Mike Trausch has done just that, and for that he is the Jerry Luce Award honoree for 2020.
Timothy can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com